1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a group information generating system and a group information generating method that generate group informations for indicating medical images obtained by modalities with grouping the medical images to some groups.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, medical images obtained by medical imaging apparatuses (modalities), such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) apparatuses and X-ray CT (computed tomography) apparatuses, are grouped for each group, such as a patient, a modality, examination date-and-time, or an examination type. When multiple medical images are displayed on a medical-image referring apparatus, medical images belonging to the same group are displayed in an aligned manner.
In such a manner, the grouped medical images are associated with group information for identifying the corresponding group and are managed in an identifiable manner. In particular, some recent modalities have functions for automatically generating group information based on information, such as imaging time, and associating the group information with medical images. The group information is added to medical images obtained by such modalities.
For example, when medical image data is generated according to DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) known as a typical standard for medical image data, series information for grouping medical image data into a group called a series is added to the medical image data.
The medical images to which the series information is added is supplied, as medical image information, to a medical-image referring apparatus, on which the medical images are then displayed in an aligned manner for each series in accordance with the series information. Thus, when a modality having a function for generating the series information is used, medical images can be sorted into groups that are more suitable for diagnosis and be displayed on a medical image referring apparatus in an aligned manner, without being additionally separated into groups.
With respect to medical images obtained by a known modality that lacks a function for sorting medical images into groups, a user may sort the medical images into groups in accordance with information, such as imaging time and a modality, so as to allow the medical images to be displayed on a medical image referring apparatus for each group in accordance with group information added by the user.
An image filing apparatus is proposed as a technology for grouping and organizing multiple image files (see, for example, JP-A-2001-333352). Specifically, the image filing apparatus sorts image files, recorded on multiple storage media for imaging, into groups in accordance with a difference in continuity of use between the storage media.
However, when a known medical image referring apparatus is used to display multiple medical images, the medical images are displayed as being sorted into unintended groups or medical images to be sorted into a group are displayed without being appropriately sorted into the group in some cases.
The main cause is that the grouping of medical images is determined based on only group information contained in medical image information when the medical images are displayed on the medical image referring apparatus. That is, when a method for generating group information is different for each manufacturer or version of a modality and the type of group information recognized by a medical image referring apparatus and the type of group information generated by the modality are different from each other, the medical image referring apparatus cannot appropriately recognize the group information, so that the medical images are displayed without being sorted into groups.
In particular, group information generated by a known modality is not appropriately recognized by a medical image referring apparatus in many cases and, for example, all of multiple medical images obtained by a known modality may be sorted into different groups.
As another example, when tomographic images of the entire body of a subject are obtained before and after a contrast medium is injected, in some cases, scanning is executed from the subject's head side toward the foot side before injection of the contrast medium and scanning is sequentially performed from the subject's foot side toward the head side after injection of the contrast medium so as to reduce imaging time. In such a case, it is essentially desired that the subject's tomographic images obtained by the scanning before injection of the contrast medium and the subject's tomographic images obtained by the scanning after injection of the contrast medium are divided into different groups for display.
However, since the scanning after injection of the contrast medium is sequentially executed, the subject's tomographic images obtained both before and after injection of the contrast medium are sorted into one group in some cases. As a result, the tomographic images obtained before and after injection of the contrast medium are not appropriately sorted into groups, and thus all the tomographic images are displayed on the medical image referring apparatus in an aligned manner.
When such medical images that are displayed without being appropriately sorted into groups are used for diagnosis, a large amount of time and effort is required for interpreting the medical images. In some cases, the flow of imaging the medical images cannot be understood, thereby making it difficult to perform three-dimensional interpretation on the subject.
Accordingly, in order to prevent such problems, it is desired to develop a technology for, without a user's work, automatically generating group information for appropriately displaying medical images on a medical image referring apparatus for each group regardless of the type of group information generated for each modality.